Highway 9 signal to ease traffic congestion south of Snohomish

Published 11:46 pm Friday, December 11, 2009

SNOHOMISH — A new traffic signal was activated this week as part of a project to ease congestion on Highway 9 south of Snohomish.

The signal, at 164th Street SE and Highway 9, is south of a stretch that was recently widened from two lanes to four.

The $53.4 million project included adding the lanes to Highway 9 between Highway 96 and Marsh Road, along with the traffic signal at 164th. The new mile-long, four-lane stretch of highway opened last month. The work was financed with increases in the state gas tax in 2003 and 2005.

“The new lanes are helping improve traffic flow for the 20,000 commuters and truck drivers who use Highway 9 each day,” said Lorena Eng, a regional administrator for the state Department of Transportation.

The signal and new lanes also are expected to improve safety in the corridor. Between 2004 and 2008, an average of 77 collisions per year took place along the 4½-mile stretch of Highway 9 between 176th Street SE and Marsh Road, according to the state.

This was an 83 percent jump in accidents from 2000, said Meghan Pembroke, a spokeswoman for the transportation department. Many of the accidents were congestion related, with 43 rear-end collisions in 2008 alone, Pembroke said.

Work on the widening began in April 2008. In April 2009, the project was delayed about a month when the road was damaged by flooding. Flood repairs were completed in May, Pembroke said.

In July, crews moved the intersection of Marsh Road, Airport Way and Springhetti Road to the east and opened new alignments of Airport Way and Springhetti Road. Moving the intersection gave crews the room they needed to finish widening the roadway, Pembroke said.

Some lane closures will still be needed through the end of the year as crews wrap up final work on the project. A new guardrail, traffic cameras and turn lanes at some intersections also are planned.

For more information, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR9/176thtoMarsh.

The state is currently more than one-third of the way through a plan to improve 90 miles of Highway 9 from Bothell to Sumas at the Canadian border.

In 2010 and 2011, crews are scheduled to begin work on three projects on Highway 9 in Snohomish County, totaling $142.1 million.

Next spring, crews plan to widen Highway 9 to four lanes between Lundeen Parkway and Highway 92 near Lake Stevens. In 2011, crews will start work to widen Highway 9 between Highway 524 north of Bothell and 176th Street SE in Clearview.

Also planned in 2011 is a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 531 in Arlington.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439, sheets@heraldnet.com.

More on the Web

For more information, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/ projects/sr9.